Turn Right
by Aiko Enomoto
Summary: When Naruto accidentally gets thrown into an alternate universe where he has a family, what will he do to keep his secret from them...and at what cost? Spoilers abound.
1. One Little Slip

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**Chapter length: 2,977 words**

**(A/N at the bottom)**

Naruto was walking along the streets of konoha to his apartment. They had just gotten back from the sand, and the mission was positively draining. His stomach grumbled, and Naruto just now noticed he was hungry.

So, he took a right, intending to head over to his favorite ramen stand. He ordered two miso ramen; After all, he would fall asleep soon. no need for him to wake up in the middle of the night to puke.

He slurped up the noodles as fast as possible, at least, for a 15-year-old boy.

He then moseyed home, ignoring a sudden nagging sensation that something was about to happen. He could sense Kyuubi's restlessness, also, but he chose to not speak.

He was very near his apartment when a he saw a glitter in the corner of his eye. Not able to resist the urge to investigate, he looked down to see a ruby-like crystal. It was rugged and obviously not a piece of jewelry, but it was still pretty.

**Don't touch it.**

Naruto jumped, only to realize it was the demon's voice.

_And why not?_

**I can sense some sort of strange power emitting from it. I've felt this before...It's dangerous.**

_Oh, is the great fox scared?_ Naruto said, thoughts dripping with sarcasm.

**No. I, the Great Kyuubi no Youko, do not feel fear.**

_Sure._

Planning to take his advice for once, since Kyuubi didn't get scared often (**Not scared!**) It was probably extremely hazardous to anybody who wasn't nearly immortal.

So he walked away, when he...

slipped backwards on a piece of trash.

It felt like the back of his head hit the crystal, then his senses went haywire. Suddenly he was thrown into a space where his body was condensed, then expanded. his whole body sensed a million feelings he had never felt before...

Only to fall onto a hard, wooden floor.

"The _hell?!"_ He shouted, getting up. He realized that no one answered him, and he was alone inside a room he had never seen before.

He shifted into fighting stance, looking around the area for any enemies. There were none.

_That's weird._ He thought. And for once, nobody answered him. _Kyuubi?_

Nothing.

Then out of nowhere, a girl that appeared about his age walked in the doorway. She had red hair that was somewhat long and pulled in a low ponytail. She wore standard ninja gear, and she was smiling.

"Hey, nice jacket. Since when do you have that, Naruto-kun?" She asked. Naruto felt like shouting _"Who the hell are you?" _but he kept silent.

"Uh, I just got it." He said awkwardly, wanting Kyuubi to answer him now more than ever.

"You have something on your face, by the way. kind of look like whiskers. But enough about that, are you ready for training or what?" she asked impatiently.

"Uh, yeah, just a minute..." He said, closing the door as she sighed and waited.

"Hurry up or Mom and Dad will be home soon! I don't like having a brother that practically sleeps half the day!" She shouted from behind the door.

That made Naruto stumble and fall on his face, with a small _thump._

_What the--_ Naruto thought every curse word that he knew right then. _Mom? Dad? Brother?_

**Urgh...that was a nice nap...**

_KYUUBI!_

**AH! What, Ki...You touched it, didn't you?**

_Yes, indirectly. But I thought you already knew that._

**oh, god DAMMI-**

_What?_

**I knew I had sensed that power from before.**

_I'm not following._

**It's like this: This is one of an infinite number of alternate universes, as was the world we came from. Somehow, that crystal had the power to transport you through the space between that universe and ours.**

_Well you're certainly chatty today, aren't you?_

**An act of self-preservation. You can be really stupid sometimes, you know.**

_Right._

The whole conversation lasted only half a minute before Naruto came back to his senses. Obviously, his 'sister' didn't recognize the jacket, so he took it off and looked inside a closet.

It contained a normal black jacket, and black pants. Deciding those were a bit too Sasuke-like, he tossed them aside. He found a plain orange shirt and black shorts, and he settled for those. He also picked up a pair of ninja sandals and a headband he found on a nightstand.

"Are you ready _yet? _for us being twins you sure don't act like me."

_twins?_

**Fraternal. You were probably born on the same day.**

Naruto supposed it was like having any other sibling. But, it wasn't like he had any to begin with, though.

Naruto opened the door, to reveal an impatient-looking sister.

"Okay, I'm ready." Naruto said, smiling, wishing he were anywhere but here.

His 'sister' kept a straight face. "Alright then, we get to work on your skills as a ninja." She inwardly frowned. _That's a bit friendly for Naruto-kun._ _He usually adds something derogative to my name._

She decided to let it go, considering that he was rather unpredictable and not above pranking her.

"Just a question, what exactly am I working on?" Naruto asked as they walked down a hall. He mentally mapped everything.

"Well, considering you got in by the skin of your teeth thanks to Dad..." She said, rolling her eyes. "Of course, you could have just screamed 'I'll sic Yondaime on you!' and have it done with."

"Yondaime...?"He whispered quietly, so that only his super-sensitive hearing could detect it.

**Huh. Little piece of interesting trivia.**

_What?_

**The Yondaime's your father.**

_WHAT?!_

**Well, you two **_**do**_** look alike, although he is the bane of my existence...**

_Seriously? The guy I idolized? That's just plain...wait, what if it's only in this universe-thing?_

**Think about it, idiot. You look like him. Nobody could look that similar and not be related. Be glad you don't look more like him, for I would've let you die awhile ago.**

The red-head was looking at him strangely. "You know, Dad's gonna be pissed when he find out you have tattoos."

"Tattoos?" Naruto asked, then remembered. "Oh yeah, these..."

"So, are you going to hide it from them or what?" She asked, frowning.

"I'm not sure...I mean, couldn't Yon--_Dad_ tell it was an illusion?" Naruto said.

"Well, it's not Dad I'm worried about. More like Mom would freak out, and that means trouble for Dad. You know how she is." she said.

"Yeah..." _Actually, I don't._

"You could show it to dad, and then put up some sort of transformation juutsu so mom wouldn't find out.**" **His 'twin' wondered out loud.

"I'll do that, then." _Because you really know more about them than I do._

They walked to the training field in silence after that, and it didn't seem to bother the girl at all. Naruto found the best word to describe it 'awkward'. After all, he wasn't used to being led around by a stranger.

"Ok," she said. "We're going to have a warm-up spar, but don't come at me as hard as you can. You have to reserve strength."

She shifted into a loose fighting stance. Naruto knew that, from the stance, she was probably just a chuunin. And considering that she had told him he had made it through the academy by the skin of his teeth, he was still a genin. Not that he wasn't in his old world, but he was above the rank when it came to actual fighting skill.

"Begin," she said, before going into action.

Naruto quickly got the gist of her style as he dodged. He knew she wasn't giving it her all, but it still didn't look like much. Finally, he blocked her punch with his forearm, and grabbed her by the upper arm, and throwing his own punch. She dodged out of the way by bending backwards, lifting Naruto off of his feet, intending to throw him onto his back. Naruto easily countered by letting go as soon as she had him in a semi-upright position, and used her own move against her by grabbing her hands and flipping her onto her back.

She stared at him for a second as Naruto grinned at her, then smirked as she got up.

"Well done," she said, smiling. "You've improved."

Naruto grinned, knowing he could've done a lot more than that.

* * *

"_What?_" Tsunade's hands came down on her desk.

"He just disappeared, Tsunade-sama." Sakura said, getting nervous.

"He could be anywhere!"

"Not in this village. We've looked everywhere for him; nobody's seen him since last night. They say he was at the ramen stand, ate, and then went the direction of his apartment..." Sakura explained.

"Did anyone see him after that?" Tsunade demanded, her form tense.

"Well..." Sakura hesitated. "A man said he had been drinking, and he saw Naruto slip on something, and then he just...vanished."

Tsunade stopped, thinking about that. "Is...that possible?"

"It could've been a juustu, though one I've never heard of..." Sakura wondered.

"I wouldn't put it past Akatsuki." Tsunade said, but somehow she doubted herself. It didn't seem like something Akatsuki would do.

"Keep searching," The woman said, feeling her age now more than ever.

* * *

When Naruto was walking home, the girl reminded him to put up the transformation. to hide his "tattoos".

When they walked in, Naruto saw a red-haired woman that looked a lot like his 'sister' in the kitchen.

"Hey, mom." She said, passive.

The woman (Kushina, Naruto reminded himself, remembering something his 'sister' had said earlier,) ran and tackled her, to Naruto's alarm. What was she on, happy crack? _Oh, wait..._

"Oh, Kagami-chan! How'd it go, huh? Is Naruto-kun improving on his skills any?" She said excitedly, causing Naruto blink. _She's just like me. Well, I'm not _that_ hyper, anyw - wait, 'Naruto-_kun_'? And that girl, she must be...Kagami. Mirror. Huh..._(1)

"Um, yeah, actually. Naruto's improved a whole lot since our last spar. In fact, he almost beat me this time."

_Pft, I totally beat her. Guess she's too proud to admit it, though._

**Watch your back, Kit.**

_wha-_

"Oof!" Kushina collided with Naruto next, causing the blond boy to fall face-first onto the floor.

"That's awesome, Naruto-kun! I'm sure your Dad will be ecstatic!" Naruto had to briefly remember who, exactly, his father was. _Oh, right. Yondaime._

After Kushina had gotten up, she went back to where she had been before - in the kitchen, preparing something that smelled a whole lot like...wait for it...yes, it was: Ramen! The salty, inexpensive and utterly innutritious snack that Naruto worshipped as if it was a deity. That was, until he heard her chopping up something. hoping against hope it wasn't what he thought it was, he peeked in, and almost sank to the floor in mourning. Vegetables. She was putting _vegetables_ into a perfectly good stew of lunch.

Kushina caught his look. "I don't like them either, but they're good for you, apparently. And Kagami loves them, for some reason or another."

Naruto sighed, knowing what he had to do next.

"I'm going to my room," He said before walking away.

* * *

Tsunade sighed, feeling her migraine getting worse. She looked around, seeing no one, and reached into her liquor cabinet. She took a tantalizing sip...

"I see you took Sarutobi-sensei's advice, eh?" A horribly familiar voice said calmly from the window.

Tsunade sputtered and dropped her drink on the floor, hurrying to pick it up before someone came in. She then turned to her former teammate, and, sensing danger, he paled.

"Use the door like a normal person!" She yelled, and as he jumped inside attempting to exit 'as a normal person', she punched him. Hard. The next thing he knew he was stuck on the wall from the force of the impact, and prayed to the gods she was satisfied. Thankfully, she was.

"Besides, I wouldn't have this damn headache if Naruto hadn't gone missing, that brat. It figures. The only evidence we have of it is a drunk man's witness," Tsunade spoke frankly.

"I heard about that," Jiraiya said. "It worries me as well."

"You sure as hell don't _act_ worried."

"I'm a ninja, remember."

* * *

Sakura kneaded her hands together, then apart again, wishing she knew what had happened. Most of the village was unconcerned. Sakura wasn't. She hated to admit it, but she thought of Naruto as a brother she had never had; Sakura hoped it wasn't misinterpreted by Naruto to be, 'I LUV U SO MUCH'.

Of course, she could never be sure. Sakura was sitting on a bench near a grove of trees, providing her shade from the ever-intense sun. It was a beautiful day, and Sakura felt it quite ill-fitting.

Suddenly she felt a presence behind her. She sat up straight, startled and whirled around, only to breathe a sigh of relief. Behind her was a pale girl with dark hair and lavender eyes, wearing a non-descript jacket. The girl commonly refered to as Hyuuga Hinata.

"Hello, Sakura-san," She said quietly and fearfully. Seeing no revenge forming in Haruno's eyes, she continued. "Something is wrong...Naruto-kun is gone..."

Suddenly Sakura felt a pang of sympathy. "He _is _gone. He was...He vanished yesterday afternoon. Everyone's trying their best to find him. No luck so far."

At this, Hinata was visibly horrified; She stuttered for a little while, then whispered, "But...why?"

"He has enemies, Hinata...I'm sorry, I really am...I just think...we're all upset right now, okay? Hokage-sama doesn't want all of our generation's teams to be looking for him, though...so...just don't tell the others, alright?" Sakura asked, and Hinata, looking upset, nodded. She ran off with a soft 'goodbye, Sakura-san'.

Sakura sighed. Knowing her team's concern for her, she'd be lucky if the entire village didn't know by the end of the day.

* * *

Naruto had to actually remember where his room was, first; The place was huge, as far as he was concerned, at least compared to his tiny little apartment he had grown out of awhile ago. Finally finding it, he shut the door, and sighed, sliding to the ground with his back against the wall.

It finally hit him. This was his family. He could hardly think the word, for all the questions it raised for his own universe; did he have a sister? What happened to his mother? And the _Yondaime,_ good god, the Yondaime. The person people praised as the greatest ninja to ever exist. His Father. And he..he...

Naruto pounded his fist into the ground. Fate must really like screwing with his life. He was the son of a so-called hero. And yet people spit at him, verbally abused him, beaten him, hell, he had nearly been killed a few times on his birthday. Did they not even know?

_Kyuubi?_ He asked the fox for some explanation, and only got a vague growling in response.

They couldn't have known, most of them, anyway. Unless their admiration of a hero was overshadowed by a hatred of him...of the demon.

_I'm not in my Konoha anymore,_ Naruto thought. _Which is just strange._

**You're going to have to get used to the idea, at least until we can find another pathway back.**

_You're _helping_ me?_

**When someone finds out about me, Kit, they're going to try and kill you. And I'm not ready to die just yet.**

Naruto sighed. It made sense. He would just have to hide who he really was to everyone.

Suddenly he was very, very lonely.

* * *

It was late when Minato finally found himself walking home. He sighed and damned the man who invented paperwork to the deepest depths of hell, and wondered why the best ninja in the village had to sit in an office scribbling on paper. To him, it made no sense.

Finally reaching his house, he came in as quietly as possible, only to hear his daughter and wife talking. He decided to not interfere.

"I'm telling you, mom, it was so strange!" Kagami said. Kushina sighed.

"Listen, Kagami, I know you're concerned," Kushina said. "But people naturally progress in their skill, especially the way you drill the boy. And so what if he's a little nicer?"

"Hey," Minato said simply, coming into view. Kagami smiled and came up to meet him.

"Anything interesting happen today?" Kushina asked kindly, kissing her husband on the cheek. Minato sighed.

"Unfortunately, no," Minato said. "But it sounds like something interesting happened here."

"Kagami claims Naruto acted different today. Oh! And he beat her in-" Kushina was cut off by Minato.

"Wait, acting...differently? How?" He asked his daughter.

"For starters, he was nicer to me," Kagami said. "And he beat me in sparring, which he's _never done._ And then, when we came home, he seemed surprised at Mom and her...hugs. Like, family stuff."

"So where is he?" Minato asked, mind already at the worst possible conclusion. Kushina's eyes flicked to him nervously, knowing what was going through his head.

"He's in his room. But Minato, even if he _is..._well, you know, I don't think you should corner him. I mean, what if Naruto's just turned over a new leaf or something? You could...scare him or something," Minato's wife pleaded.

Kagami watched the goings-on, secretly worried for her brother. Yes, something was...off about him, but it was still Naruto. She had always been the one that could interpret her brother best out of their whole family.

"I don't think he's a spy," Kagami said out loud. Both parents turned to her.

"Why not?" Kushina asked.

"You said it yourself. I'm his twin. I've seen people under henge to look like him, and they all still...felt like their original forms. This is Naruto. He's just..." Kagami said, struggling for a word. "Off."

"I know you're sensitive to him, Kagami," Minato said gently. "But we still have to keep in mind it's a possibility."

As the Fourth walked to Naruto's room, Kagami stood by, helplessly watching.

* * *

**I'm not even going to pretend to be satisfied with this. Honestly, I could've done a heck of a lot better. **

**BUT. Self-depriciation aside, this is my rewrite of Naruto's Dreams, which I shall rename because way too many of my fics have 'Naruto' in their title. as of right now, all chapter titles with the name 'being rewritten' are...well...old. And they _Suck._ so don't even go there. Those chapters are dark caves of bad grammar, short chapters, rushed events, and absolutely, positively, no character development. It's a bad, bad place.**

**I'm planning to come out with chapters once a month. So that's how long you have to wait.**

**By the way? Not NaruSaku. As far as I'm concerned, this is a gen fic. As much as I'd like to squish NaruHina in here somehow, it just ain't happening.**

**See you in March!**


	2. The Otherworld Crystal

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**Chapter Length: 2,594 words**

* * *

Hinata sighed. It was depressing, to say the least, that Naruto had gone missing. Nobody had any idea where he was...or anything! It was frustrating.

Apparently it showed on her face. Kiba, after giving her an enthusiastic greeting on the otherwise deserted road, took on a look of concern.

"Hey, Hinata, what's up with that face?" Kiba asked, Hinata suddenly going red. "I bet it's something about Naruto!"

Hinata really wished Kiba would stop asking, because of one reason and one reason only:

She was a _terrible_ liar.

"Uh, K-Kiba...nothing! N-nothing's wrong! Everything's fine!" She managed. Kiba looked at her suspiciously, which caused Hinata to question whether his intelligence was on par with Akamaru's. Even _she_ could tell her lie sucked.

"Something's up, isn't it..." Kiba said. Hinata stammered something noncommittal, but Kiba didn't buy it. "Something is definitely up with you!"

"N-Naruto's MISSING!" Hinata cried to Kiba, finally letting her emotions loose. Kiba wasn't nearly as concerned about Naruto as he was that she had probably blown out one of his eardrums with that last statement. Chances are, a passing civilian on the next block could hear it as if it were said right in front of him.

They'd be lucky if the whole village didn't know by sundown...

* * *

Kagami sighed. She wanted to help Naruto, she really did; this might be the breakthrough she'd been hoping for the last four years. But her parents were treating it as if someone had killed Naruto and the imposter had taken his place!

Of course, Kagami couldn't deny that possibility. She was a ninja, after all, and wasn't stupid. Oh, but if that really was the case, whoever it was _was good._

She couldn't stop her father from confronting him, but she could help him afterwards. She wouldn't lie. Naruto had been dependent on their father from the day they were born. Kagami didn't think Naruto could possibly survive a year without him. And to have that person confront you, telling you that he thought you were a spy...

The more she thought about it, the more she became annoyed.

Damn paranoia.

* * *

Naruto heard the knock at his door, and thought it was either Kagami or Kushina; what he didn't expect was the fourth himself.

When Naruto opened the door, his eyes widened for a fraction of a second. It was the goddamn fourth Hokage, for god's sake. This man was dead. This man had made his life hell. Surprisingly, he was also a little intimidating.

The effect was ruined when he smiled, however, and Naruto felt himself relax. Relaxed as you could be in front of _The_ Ninja, that is.

"Hey, kid," He said easily. "Kagami told me you finally beat her today."

Suddenly the full implications of his coming here smacked Naruto square in the face.

"Uh...yeah, I guess I did..." Naruto said in an uncharacteristically shy manner. Once he'd found his voice, of course. But inside his head he was awed, intimidated, confused, and deathly afraid, all at the same time.

"She also told me you've been acting oddly today. Are you alright? Sick or something?" The Fourth said with genuine concern. But Naruto knew the translation: _Are you a spy?_

"No, I'm fine," Naruto said. _You have no idea._

* * *

And that was how Naruto's first day in an alternate universe went.

Not used to having people cook for him, he went off and ate by himself, completely forgetting that Kushina had mentioned making a meal earlier. Kagami had then chewed him out so their parents wouldn't have to.

"So you were hungry and went off to eat by yourself?" Kagami said. "You could have at least invited me."

Naruto grinned cheekily and rubbed the back of his head. "Well..."

Kagami smiled. "Glad you're finally getting a new attitude, whatever mom and dad say," she said, and walked up back to what Naruto could only assume where her room was.

_I just need to learn the old one, _Naruto thought, as he sighed for the umpteenth time that day. He didn't like being cooped up in 'his' room, so he hesitantly approached Kushina.

"Er, K.._mom_, could I possibly go out...?" He said cautiously, not a normal demeanor for Naruto Uzumaki. Apparently it wasn't a problem, however, and Kushina huffed and looked at him in the eye.

"Listen, Naruto. Your Dad had to go back to work, but don't assume I'll go easy on you. He nearly had a heart attack when Kagami discovered that you had snuck out. I'll let you go out, but I'm letting your father know," She said in a tone that said _Serious business. _

"Whatever! I'll be on my best behavior!" Naruto said optimistically, and Kushina chuckled.

"Go get 'em, tiger."

* * *

It was rare that Hinata Hyuuga got out of her house on account of her disease, and only then with a mask so that she wouldn't spread contagions to others. But when she did, it was most often a wonderful experience.

Having left the Hyuuga compound when she could afford to live on her own (and some help via the Hokage) She was more or less independent. It's not like Hiashi had wanted her there anyway. She sucked as a ninja, even more so now that she had caught tuberculosis. (1)

So it had been a month of PTO, and she was itching to get back to work. (2) She just wanted to improve her skills. She had stood up to Hiashi, she could become a stronger ninja.

She had never really paid any attention to the Hokage's son. Although she was quite familiar with Minato, being the (former) heir to the Hyuuga clan and all, she had never really taken an interest in his son. They used to be in the academy together, but he was unlikable. He was cold and a little condescending at Hinata's lack of ability. Come to think of it, he really wasn't one to talk.

So Hinata had been forced to grow up and become mature by herself, and although be ninja standards she was merely proficient, people admired her. Mainly...

"Hinata-sensei!" Hisakata.

Hinata sighed and turned around. Hisakata, although energetic and likeable, followed her idol with a little too _much _vigor. "What is it, Hisakata-chan?"

She smiled at Hinata, but being several years younger, she had to look up. "Hinata-sensei, I wanted to warn you! The Hokage's son is acting strange today!" This piqued Hinata's interest.

"How so?" She hoped he wasn't being problematic. Occasionally, people saw the boy going around causing mischief. He had developed a nickname, since no one could actually _prove _he was the one causing mischief. It was 'Yellow Fox', since Foxes were famous for being tricksters. This caused some unrest, as around the time she was born, the village had an uncomfortably close encounter with a bijuu: The Nine-tailed Fox, Kyuubi no Yoko.

"People just said he was acting weird. There were some rumors he was a spy, too!" Hisakata said excitedly, which only made Hinata worry more.

"Don't worry yourself with rumors, okay? You know how they usually are, greatly-"

"Exaggerated, I know, I know. Anyway, I have to go to my mom and do chores. But I expect you to give me a lesson later, okay Hinata-sensei?" She said, putting her finger up almost as if it was a threat. Hinata laughed and nodded.

She was curious. The Hokage's son was notorious for having some mood swings, mostly between 'My life sort of sucks' to 'I hate you all', so when news got to Hisakata it must've been something special.

So, forgoing any caution for her disease, she headed off in search of him.

* * *

Sakura tapped her pencil on her desk. He had just disappeared off the face of the earth. Kakashi's dogs couldn't hunt him down, the best tracking ninja couldn't detect him. She scrunched up her nose and tucked a strand of pink hair behind her ear. "No one can disappear. God, even Kakashi-"

Then she realized something.

Scrambling from her chair, she scribbled down her theory on a piece of paper. It was an insanely long shot, but it was the only theory she had that made sense. Even if you were dead, dogs could still pick up your scent. Especially ninja dogs. But they couldn't sense you if you weren't on this plane of existence, could they?

* * *

Minato furrowed his brow. "Are you sure you don't know who it belongs to?"

"No, Lord Hokage." His assistant then lifted the object for the Hokage's inspection.

It was an arm.

That alone was strange, the fact that there was just an arm with a strange mouth on its palm, but the fact that it had literally dropped out of the sky while a Konoha ninja was on a mission in the land of Wind, with no plausible explanation, made it even weirder.

From what their analysts could tell, it had been ripped off its owner with an insane amount of force shortly before the Konoha ninja had come across it. Apart for some small pieces of detonating clay stuck in the mouth, there was nothing harmful about it. The strange ring could not be affiliated with any group that they could think of, and no forehead protector was found.

"Our analysts could continue-" the assistant began, but Minato cut him off.

"No more information is going to come out of that thing. I want you to send some ninja to return to that location, see if there's any residual effects, got it?" He said in a commanding tone. The assistant, older and somewhat balding, flinched and gave a quiet confirmation.

As he left, Minato glanced at the arm again. There was something not right about it, he just couldn't figure out what.

* * *

Naruto wasn't going anywhere specific. Just checking the village out, which he discovered wasn't much of a problem.

People bowed to him, muttering things like 'Honored son' and other such things. It left Naruto flustered, because he really wasn't used to this kind of stuff. He wanted to know more about the crystal that brought him here. What was it called? Why the hell was it just sitting in the middle of the street?

Then it became a problem.

Even with the longer, waist-length hair and the mask people used to keep from spreading germs, she was still recognizable.

"Hinata?" He called. She seemed to blink in surprise.

"You know me?" The muffled voice said. "That is to say, you know my name?" They walked closer to each other, and Naruto smiled.

"Of course I do!" At this she seemed almost _disturbed. _She wasn't acting her usual self; no stuttering, her face wasn't getting all red, she wasn't fainting...

"We...the last time we spoke was a mission, two years ago. And last time I checked, you weren't all that interested in becoming my friend, either..." She said. Naruto, inwardly, was kind of surprised. As far as he knew, Hinata was nice, strong (considering what she did in the chunin exams), and he had never acted coldly...had he?

"Well, I've decided to turn over a new leaf," Naruto lied. "So it would be awesome if you could be my friend!"

At this, she openly gaped. "I'm about to call a Yamanaka and see what genjutsu _you've _been under...heh, I just remembered. Your name is Na-something, right?"

"Naruto, the one and only!" He said.

"Alright, Naruto, I'll always think of fishcakes when I look at your face," Hinata said jokingly, and both of them started laughing aloud. (3)

Yeah...she might actually like this kid. Made her think of the type she would crush on if her situation was somewhat different...

So Hinata and Naruto spent most of the day together, Hinata knowing exactly why the villagers were so excited about this. Naruto was somewhat forgettable, which she half-believed was on purpose. But now, he was energetic. He seemed hesitant at first, like he was scared she would eat him with a side of rice, but he slowly opened up and became much more friendly.

Then she saw Hisakata again, who rushed over and looked at Naruto like one might look at a delicious meal. At least one that provided even more gossip to the village.

She shook her short amber hair. "Are you two going out now?!"

"Hisakata-chan..." Hinata said, leaning down to be eye-level with the girl, "If you spread this rumor I swear to god I'll tell your parents about that time with Shino and the fried soba-"

She instantly changed her expression to one of dread. "It's okay, I won't spread any rumor, I swear!"

"Good girl," Hinata said, smiling.

"Nice, Hinata," said a slightly horrified Naruto. Never do anything embarrassing with Hinata...

* * *

"I guess it's plausible..." Tsunade said. "But we would have no way of knowing if the person would come out alive, or even in the same dimension."

Sakura looked downward. "But the principle's still the same. I mean, if we could just find out what had pulled him out of this dimension, then we could possibly pull him out, right?"

"Anything that was there is probably long-" Tsunade began, but was cut off by someone knocking on the door. Shizune hurried over and turned the handle, and Sakura saw none other than Shikamaru Nara.

"Lady Hokage, I found something that might be of interest," he said, and held out a dark, almost black, purple-hued crystal, held from his hand by a chain.

"Your family has had experience with these?" Tsunade asked curiously.

The Nara nodded. "When I was young, my father told me old stories that often involved crystals and events like these. When I found it, I didn't touch it, I put it on this chain. Although it was troublesome, I read ancient scrolls about them."

"And?" Tsunade asked.

"They're called 'Otherworld Crystals', and apparently they transport anyone who directly touches them to some other reality. In the ancient texts, they were said to make people simply disappear. But the stories my father told were quite different."

Sakura's voice wavered in uncertainty. "Should we really trust some old scrolls and a couple of folk tales?"

"As of right now, it's the only testimony we've got. And besides, it matches up with the only witnesses' story, too," Tsunade said firmly. "Take it to the labs."

* * *

"You ran into Hinata-chan?" Kushina asked when Naruto returned. "I don't think you've ever talked to her before."

"I bet he's just trying to make her his girlfriend!" Kagami said teasingly.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? We were just talking and stuff."

"It's the 'and stuff' part that worries me, duh."

A few teasing comments later, and both kids were engaged in chasing each other around the room. Kushina was a patient woman, but it only took so much for her temper to burst.

"_How _old are you two again?" She asked slightly angrily.

"Fifteen," Both answered at once.

"Yeah, well, I beg to differ," Kushina said only half-joking.

two hours later, and Naruto was back into 'his' room, and dressed casually in a white tee-shirt and his boxers. Contemplating, in fact, on a conversation he had with Hinata that afternoon:

_"So," Naruto began casually. "How's Sakura? I haven't seen her in awhile."_

_Hinata seemed a little taken aback. "S...Sakura...well, you know how she is, Naruto. Her condition hasn't changed."_

What condition? _Naruto almost asked, but didn't. Instead, he muttered, "I see."_

As he lay in his bed, Naruto knew what he was going to do tomorrow.

* * *

**Footnotes:**

**(1) Tuberculosis: A treatable disease that affects the respitory system. Before the Pure Food and Drug Act in the United States, this disease was often carried through meat products. It is also highly contagious.**

**(2) PTO = Paid Time Off, for those unaware.**

**(3) I'll think of Fishcakes: _Naruto _are the little swirly things in ramen, which are basically little cakes of fish.**

**A/N: Well, It's been awhile, has it not? I'm sorry I didn't get you this update on time. My life is a PMSing bitch, apparently. Oh, and I'm the universe's favorite thing to mess with. Things happened in this chapter! Yay! And Minato...3. I promise upcoming chapters will feature more Minato. **

**My whole 'This is a gen fic' from last chapter still holds. Not in the mood for romance. I really suck at writing it...^.^; So no, no romance with AU Hinata. But lord, I love writing her. She's so awesome. Honestly, I never planned for her to be in here, but back when I first posted this I hardly knew she existed. And Kushina hadn't been revealed. Kagami is a nice little add-in that will have teh explanation later.**

**And if you happen to have read this fic before, no younger canon!Sasuke will be present. Because he's been so stupid the last couple of chapters, I'm banning him from my fic. But AU!Sasuke will be present...**

**Anyway, see you in June!**


	3. A Wilted Cherry Blossom

**Disclaimer: I do not own 'NARUTO'.**

**Chapter Length: 1,214 words**

* * *

The room was dark, and shadows seemed to occupy almost every inch of space. The little light that crept in seemed unwelcome, as if the dark would chase it away. Dust sat on almost every shelf, book, object, all except the bed. It was a bundle of unmoving sheets and covers.

Suddenly the mass groaned, and a head emerged. It was pale and sickly-looking, with a head of pale pink hair that once freed from the sheets fell around her in long locks. Her eyes fluttered open, a pale and lifeless green.

She stumbled out of the bed, making her way around the dust-covered floor, not bothering to put on a single article of clothing. She coughed, then wheezed, then collapsed to the ground.

"Mother!" She called hoarsely, "Mother, I need you..."

* * *

A much brighter pair of blue eyes met the sun the same morning.

"Naruto!" a voice yelled. "Naruto, wake up!"

A girl appeared over Naruto, red hair falling in the blond boy's face. He crinkled his nose, trying to fight the urge to-

"Ach-HOO!"

Kagami furrowed her brow. "Nice, Naruto. Now I'll have _green highlights _in my hair. That'll-hey, where are you going?" Naruto had put on his jacket and some pants, and flown out the door. "Heey!"

Naruto peeked back in the room. "Gotta go see a friend I haven't made yet. Bye!"

"Now, where to go, where to go..." Naruto said, walking around the streets. He honestly didn't know where Sakura lived in his own Konoha. So how was he going to find her here?

Suddenly he felt someone push him to the side. About to protest, he saw something he thought he'd never see, except in battle.

A head of black hair. Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke turned his face towards Naruto, and recognition dawned in his eyes. "Hey, you're Naruto Namikaze!"

Naruto gulped. "Uh, yeah..."

"I haven't seen you since the chuunin test all that way back! What's it been, like two years?" And then something impossible happened. Sasuke Uchiha...smiled.

"Um...Te-Sasuke, I need some help finding someone..." Naruto said as Sasuke's expression went back to neutral.

"Sure, who?"

* * *

Minato scowled at the paper on his desk. Not only did they not know the slightest thing about the arm, but a recent waterline break had caused three times the usual paperwork load. That meant less time investigating, more time granting things that the villagers really should just get without so much paperwork.

And to make it worse, with the day off her ninja duties, Kagami was hanging around the office. That in itself wouldn't be a bad thing, but she seemed not to notice the massive pile of paperwork that was on his desk.

"-He sneezed on me. Then he got up really fast and went to see someone or something..."

"Wait, what?" Minato said. "Went to see who? Hinata?"

"No. He didn't say who. He just said...oh, right. He said 'I'm going to see a friend I haven't made yet'. Weird, huh?" Kagami said, absently messing around with a piece of her hair.

"Very."

* * *

Sasuke looked at Naruto worriedly. "Are you sure you were looking for Haruno-san?" Naruto nodded in return, looking at the house in front of him. It was pretty typical; made of wood and painted tan.

"Want me to come in with you?"

"Sure."

Naruto climbed the stairs and rapped his knuckles on the door. A few seconds later, the door opened and a middle-aged woman with pink hair greeted them.

"Uh, hi, my name's-" Naruto was cut off.

"Oh! The Hokage's son! And Uchiha-san as well? What brings you two here today?" She said. The enthusiasm was so forced Naruto almost gagged.

"Actually, I came to visit Sakura-cha...Sakura-san. Is she home?" Naruto asked. Suddenly the woman's face betrayed worry. (1)

"Wh-why? Is she being kicked out of the ninja ranks? Did your father order this?" She said, almost panicked.

"Actually...um...just to visit, I - and Sasuke, too - wanted to visit her."

"Oh...alright then. She'll be this way," The woman said, taking them inside.

The house was moderately sized, but off the back porch there was a garden with a walkway of stones. Beyond that was a small house, no bigger than a bedroom, that was made in the traditional way, like the Hyuuga compound. As they walked closer to the small house, the garden fell into increasing disrepair, but the small house itself was well-kept on the outside. All the paper sliding doors were shut.

Sakura's mother stepped up onto the narrow wrap-around porch, and opened the door slightly. "Good, you have a Yukata on. Namikaze-san and Uchiha-san have come to visit you."

A faint "send them in" could be heard. The woman gestured for them to go inside, and Naruto went straight in. Sasuke, however, hesitated.

"What's wrong, scared?" Naruto said tauntingly.

Sasuke shuffled awkwardly, scowling. "No."

"Then come on!" Naruto entered brashly, and at first it was too dark to see. But as his eyes adjusted and Sasuke clambered in behind him, he could make out a fuzzy figure by the muted light that passed through the paper doors.

She was thin and sitting lightly on the edge of a futon. Wrapped in a blue-and-white Yukata, her pink hair cascaded over her back in a single shock. It was even longer than Hinata's. Naruto could also see her skin resembled china, and her eyes were dull.

"Why are you here?" Sakura Haruno asked blatantly.

Naruto gulped.

"Uh..." Now that he was here, he couldn't just say that he was from an alternate timeline and interested in her condition, could he? Typical Naruto logic. Jump first, ask questions later. So he came up with the only thing he could think of. "I wanted to see how...you were doing?"

Sakura looked up at him with an unreadable expression. "It's been two years since you last saw me. Ever since I was involved in the incident."

"Uh..."

"When Ruka died, and I got hurt. Remember? You practically cut of all communications."

"I'm...sorry?" Naruto said, scratching the back of his head. However, Sakura gave a small smile.

"I've been waiting a long time for that."

"Great," Sasuke whispered. "Now I feel like a third wheel to some great friendship revelation or something..."

They talked a long time, and gradually Sakura let her walls down with these two. They were kind, so they could be considered friends. She hadn't seen many people besides her mother, her father (when he was in the village) and Ino. She was happy to have other living humans in here for once, although the air smelled of mothballs and dust.

"Why do you live in here?" Naruto asked suddenly.

"Just because. I liked it better here," She said.

Naruto fell silent for a moment, seemingly thinking about something. Then he said, "How long has it been since you've been around Konoha?"

"Been around Konoha?" Sasuke asked. "Surely she would've-" Sasuke began to say, but was cut off by Sakura.

"A few years," she answered in a completely reasonable voice.

Naruto smiled his fox smile, and said to the tow caught-off-guard people in front of him, "Well then let's go out today, Sakura!"

Sasuke stared at him in disbelief, thinking, _Namikaze really has turned over a very different leaf._

* * *

**Hello people who haven't given up on me yet. Before ya'll start complaining about the chapter length, trust me, this is a one-time thing. Certain complicated circumstances haven't allowed me to work on this chapter in a month, and other complicated circumstances prevent me from working on it at length. But trust me. Next chapter will be longer. See you in September!**


	4. Strange

**Words: 1,976**

**

* * *

**

As Minato puzzled over his son's behavior, he pretended to ponder the latest mystery he had received: The reports from Suna about the site where the arm first appeared. Apparently there had been traces of chakra residue, and in the samples his men sent back, they matched up to one person. The person he had before him now.

"Kakashi, you know I wouldn't suspect you normally. But this is just a little strange," Minato said distractedly, more worried about his son. "I know for a fact you were in this village at the time the arm 'fell out of the sky'. I just need some help figuring this out; it doesn't make any sense."

Kakashi sighed. "Sensei, I know you're distracted."

"I am not!" Minato said indignantly, then reluctantly, "Maybe a little bit."

"_But, _I may be able to work out your arm dilemma for you. I was researching different kinds of Uchiha doujutsu."

"Why would you do that? And how do the Uchiha relate to all this, anyway?" Minato said.

"Obito dragged me along. I learned some pretty interesting things about that clan," Kakashi said.

"Something Itachi hasn't told me?"

"It has to do with a very advanced doujutsu, and it probably wasn't relevant until now. However, recently Obito has acquired something called the Mangekyou Sharingan. It's a higher-level doujutsu that's unique to the user. Obito's did something that I didn't think of much at the time."

"Well, don't keep me waiting. What was it?"

"It could suck objects into different dimensions. Objects like people," Kakashi said ominously.

"…Or rip a part of a person off with great force," Minato said. "But something still doesn't make sense. It was your chakra, remember? Not Obito's."

"Hm…how closely did you examine that chakra trace?"

"Thoroughly enough to know it was one of my students," Minato answered, narrowing his eyes. "Why?"

"I bet if you analyzed it further, it _would_ contain some of Obito's chakra." Kakashi said, standing up. "Tell me if you find anything. And keep an eye on Naruto."

* * *

"I…I don't know about this. It feels…weird," Sakura said after they'd been walking the streets of Konoha for only ten minutes, her constantly pulling at her grey sweater, trying to make it cover her more.

"Don't sweat it, Sakura-chan! I'm sure you'll get used to it in no time!" Naruto said in his energetic way, as usual. Sasuke elbowed him.

"Stop being so familiar with her, Namikaze. You've hardly seen her at all," Sasuke said quietly.

"Jealous?" Naruto said mischievously with a sly little smile on his face.

Sasuke blushed. "I…I am not jealous!" he said, flustered. Calming down, he said, "I just don't believe it's right to talk to someone you've hardly known so comfortably."

"Hey, hey, Sasuke, I think it would be best if you'd lighten up a little!"

"That's _Uchiha-san_ to you, brat!"

Naruto turned to Sakura, who was laughing quietly. "You two are ridiculous," she said after a moment. "How long have you been friends?"

The blond-headed boy wanted to say years, but Sasuke beat him to it. "I've only really been talking to him this morning."

Sakura blinked. "Odd. I guess you two are just fast friends."

Sasuke huffed. "_Namikaze _is not my friend…we're just…acquaintances." Naruto smirked.

"You're just a bastard, Uchiha!" That ruffled Sasuke's feathers, and he looked at Naruto in disbelief. _Yep, a dignified Uchiha can barely stand being called a bastard! _Naruto thought proudly, right before he felt a whap in the back of his head.

The raven-haired boy simply sighed in annoyance while still looking somewhat flustered, the expression looking quite strange on his face to Naruto. "Listen, Namikaze, I think your father would probably maul me then send me straight into Shinigami's stomach if I gave you a broken rib, so let's leave the insults at that." Then he hesitated. "Moron."

Naruto yelled, "What did you call me?" But Sasuke shut him up with another whap to the head.

And Sakura? She was having the time of her life.

* * *

"Obito!" Called Minato, startling his student. Obito was currently resting in his small house in the Uchiha compound when his old sensei came marching in.

"Oh, hi, Sensei. What'd you come around here for?" He asked, and Minato's face turned serious.

"It seems we have a mystery on our hands."

Obito cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean, 'mystery'?"

Minato made himself comfortable on a mat. "It's not that easy to explain. A little while ago some of my ninjas found an arm that seemed to have been ripped off the owner's body. We didn't find much of interest in it, except that it had a fully-functional mouth and some detonating clay on it."

"Well, mystery solved, right? The owner got his or her arm ripped off from detonating clay. Simple as that," Obito said.

"Or not," Minato continued. "Out of my curiosity and concern, I assigned some ninja to investigate further. Their results are very confusing."

"Oh?"

"You see, they detected Hatake Kakashi's chakra on it, and the place where it originated suggested tearing of space-time. Kakashi suggested It could be this family's doujutsu, where he told me that you had the ability to rip objects out of this reality," Minato explained.

"Well, I don't know much about it, but yeah, I have that type of sharingan. Although how it could be Kakashi beats me."

"What do you know about other realities?"

Obito gave him a confused expression. "What do you mean? I don't think you're liable for crimes outside this world. Why do you care?"

Minato shrugged. "Curiosity, I suppose."

Obito sighed. "Fine. All I know is that there is an unknowable number of realities. Anything is possible in them, anything at all. People never born, humanity wiped out, whatever. And usually they're not possible to pass through, unless you have my sharingan, and I've heard rumors from the Nara clan that there's a crystal that grants you magic passage into a random one, but I don't believe it."

"Huh. Interesting. So anything's possible, huh?"

"Pretty much," Obito said. "It's actually pretty interesting. Maybe wherever that came from I have Kakashi's chakra signature."

Curiosity satisfied, Minato engaged Obito in small talk. "So, how's it been going with Jun-san?"

"Ah, fine, really…" Obito seemed embarrassed at the mention of his wife. "Actually, she's pregnant."

"You're kidding!"

"I wish!" Obito laughed nervously. "I don't know if I can handle fatherhood."

"Trust me, you won't. Just do the best you can, and don't screw them up too badly," Minato said, smiling. "I'm pretty sure that without Kushina my two would be completely hopeless."

"Speaking of which, How's Naruto?"

"He's doing okay, I suppose. He's not acting so oddly as he was, but he definitely turned over a new social leaf."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Minato said, thinking. "You remember Hinata? Apparently he's made friends with her. I'm almost afraid of who he'll drag in next."

"Maybe he'll befriend one of my family, heh."

Minato smiled. "Yeah right. He hates any Uchiha except you."

The Yondaime walked home that day as the sun was nearing the horizon, and when he walked into his home, he heard some moaning from his and Kushina's bedroom. He sprinted there, and saw a terrified Kagami holding her mother's pale and clenched hand. Kushina was clearly in pain, her eyes shut tight and mouth set in a grimace.

It was then that Minato noticed the chakra in the air. He recognized it.

"Kushina!" cried Minato, racing to her side. Her skin was cold to the touch.

"It's…_Kyuubi,_" managed Kushina, before falling unconscious. Minato quickly lay her flat on her back, and lifted up her shirt so he could see her stomach. His eyes traced the pattern of the seal, and he furrowed his brow.

The Kyuubi was sealed inside his wife, and was acting up in a major way. The seal glowed red and felt hot to the touch.

"Something's got Furry here nervous. _Really _nervous…" Minato murmured to himself.

"She isn't going to die, is she, Dad?" Kagami asked, horrified at her mother's state.

"Not intentionally. But he might accidentally kill her. Quickly, Kagami, go get my sealing inks!"

After making sure her stomach was fit for seals, he painted another seal on top of her existing one. Kagami watched with fascinated eyes.

"She should be all right for about a month," Minato said. "She should wake up soon. Maybe she has some more information about this."

* * *

Naruto arrived home after seeing his newfound friends off, and went inside. He didn't hear anything at first, but suddenly there was a shout from upstairs. He quickly sprinted up the stairs, and promptly tripped.

"Stupid stairs," he cursed under his breath. Getting up, it took him a few minutes to find the source of the shout, and what he found terrified him.

Minato and Kagami looked up, fear clearly written on their faces, a brush in Minato's hand. The next thing Naruto noticed was Kushina lying on the floor, deathly pale, with a newly-made seal on her stomach.

"What the hell happened?" He said, crouching by Kushina's unconscious form. Minato sighed.

"The Kyuubi acted up again, apparently for no reason. This one's serious." Naruto blinked uncomprehendingly at Kushina, then figured it out.

"She…has Kyuubi inside her…and he hurt her?" Naruto said mostly to himself.

"Exactly," Minato said as if Naruto was supposed to _know_ that Kushina had Kyuubi sealed inside of her.

Suddenly, Kushina's eyes fluttered open. "What…happened?"

"We thought you could tell us," Minato said. Suddenly Kushina sat up, eyes wide, holding her head.

"Kyuubi's scared!" She said. "He said…that there were _two _of him!"

Naruto tried not to pay attention to the manic laughing in the back of his mind. Minato held Kushina. "What did he mean?"

"He said…that there was another one of him. From another world, or something. A Kyuubi that was far more powerful than he…" Kushina said. "All he said was that 'It's the boy'."

Now Naruto was nervous. This Kyuubi was obviously referring to him. No doubt they would figure it out, he thought.

"No way…the arm!" Minato said, snapping his fingers.

"What arm?" asked Kagami.

"A while ago some ninja found an arm that appeared to have been ripped off its owner. It was found in the land of wind, and the only thing odd about it was that it had a mouth, some detonating clay, and Kakashi's signature was all over it."

Naruto froze. It was Deidara's arm. The arm he had not so long ago seen ripped off its owner by none other than Hatake Kakashi.

"Apparently, it came from some other world. I can't help but think these two incidents are related," Minato said with a sure tone. "I don't know what he meant about 'it's the boy,' though."

Kushina tried to look reassured. "It's late. You two should get ready to sleep."

"Yes Mom," Kagami said while Naruto just nodded.

There was no way Naruto could sleep at a time like this. He stepped outside, into the cool evening air, and paced.

_They're going to figure it out eventually. I just need to find another crystal, and hopefully I can get back home._

He kept like this until he heard Kagami's voice. "You couldn't sleep either, huh?"

"No."

Kagami walked out and joined Naruto. "Don't worry. Dad's a sealing master. He wouldn't let anything happen to Mom."

"Don't I know it," Naruto said under his breath, but Kagami heard.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, concerned.

"It's nothing."

"You're lying," Kagami said, a little indignant. "What's so bad about Dad being a sealing master?"

Naruto was tired of lying to people. He could trust Kagami, couldn't he? "I…I know why the Kyuubi acted up."

"How would you know…?" Kagami asked quietly.

"I'm the boy he was talking about."

* * *

**A cliffhanger! Oh ye gods YES-er, I mean Nooooooo...**

**Aaaanyway, I'm just six days late. Just six. And I was distracted by shiny nanowrimo. Oh yes, I'm doing it again. **

**Because of NaNoWriMo, I'm going to be giving you a chapter in a week's time, since you probably don't want to be straddled with a cliffhanger for three months. So, chapter in a week, see you in January~!**


	5. Four Plus Two

**Words: 1,744**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

"…_what?" _Kagami said sourly. "_Don't _joke around like that, moron. You had me worried there for a second."

When it rains, it pours, Naruto figured. "I'm serious!"

"What do you expect me to believe, that you came from another reality?"

"That's _exactly _what I'm expecting you to believe!" Naruto exclaimed, crossing his arms. "If you don't believe me, fine."

Kagami smiled, still believing it to be a joke. "Prove it to me then, world-hopping boy."

Naruto debated telling her. He had already gotten this far, and Kagami would likely tell her father if Naruto didn't go all the way and convince her into keeping it a secret. He lifted up his shirt so that his stomach showed.

"Great, you flashed me."

Naruto shushed her and formed the seal to gather up chakra. Slowly, the black markings appeared, and as they did so, Kagami grew more nervous.

"Wha…" she murmured. "How is that...?"

"Believe me now?" Naruto asked. Suddenly Kagami opened her mouth, ready to yell, before Naruto clapped it shut.

"I didn't come here of my own free will, you know. I fell on something, a little crystal that makes you go to another world if you touch it. I'm just trying to get back home," Naruto whispered fervently. He let go of her mouth.

"That's…I know that seal," Kagami said, scared. "That's where the seal master gets eaten by the shinigami in return for sealing something terrible."

"Yeah. It holds the Kyuubi," Naruto said.

"Who sealed it?"

"The Yondaime," Naruto said, and was met with Kagami's horrified expression.

"Dad's _dead? _What about you and me and Mom?" Kagami tried to calm herself.

"I'm an orphan. Apparently Kushina died too. And I don't have any siblings," Naruto answered. "I'm just Naruto Uzumaki. No one told me who my parents were." Suddenly Naruto was embraced in a hug.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I won't tell Mom and Dad. I promise."

"Thanks."

* * *

The next day Minato stayed home in case Kushina had another episode, however unlikely. Naruto and Kagami were upstairs.

"I'm having everyone I can look into this, Kushina," He said soothingly. "I'm sure we'll have an answer in no time."

"Thank you, Minato-kun. You're the best," Kushina said, softly kissing her husband.

"Not even close. But thank you anyway," Minato joked, kissing her back.

Minato heard a knock on the door. "I'll be right back," He said, getting up. He opened the door to see none other than Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno.

"Hello Uchiha-san, Haruno-san. What can I do for you?" Minato noticed the girl looked sickly but happy, and the Uchiha just plain annoyed.

"Yesterday we were socializing with Naruto-san. Sakura-san requested that Naruto and I would do the same today," Sasuke said, giving Minato the surprise of his life. He had befriended an Uchiha that wasn't Obito or Jun? Amazing!

"You can come in. Go ahead and make yourself at home."

* * *

"That's amazing. So Gaara-san is your friend?"

"Yep! He even became Kazekage."

Kagami chuckled. "Well, if it means anything, I support your quest for Hokage-hood."

"Thanks! I'll definitely beat the old Lady out of her office!"

"'Old Lady'?"

"Tsunade."

"So Tsunade's Hokage…"

Naruto heard Minato call "Naruto, your friends are here!"

_Friends? _He thought. "Oh. He must mean Sasuke and Sakura."

Kagami sighed. "It seems like you make friends and they're attracted back to you like a moth and a flame. Good job," she said. "My brother never made any friends."

Naruto flashed her a smile. "I guess I'm likeable!"

He went downstairs to discover a timid-looking Sakura and an annoyed Uchiha. Sasuke scowled. "Namikaze, Sakura-san wanted to—"

"I was wondering if we could go around town again today. I liked yesterday," Sakura said, cutting him off. Naruto looked surprised.

"Eh, you must not go out a lot." This statement was met with a glare from Sasuke. "Uh, I mean, sure! Heh heh…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Mind if I come along?" said a voice from the top of the stairs. Kagami smiled down at the group. "Unless you feel like I'm intruding, that is…"

"Absolutely not, Kagami-san!" Sakura said kindly. "As they say, the more the merrier, eh? Let's go!" At first, Sasuke looked none too pleased to have another person added to their adventuring party. But as he turned away, Naruto saw a smile flash across his face.

* * *

"How would you test it? I'm sure no one would volunteer to be a guinea pig for something like this."

"I don't know yet, Hinata. I'll figure it out!"

In the universe next door, Sakura was brainstorming ways to test the otherworld crystal. They didn't want to send a person on the risk that they would end up in a completely different universe and not be able to get back.

"I got it!" Kiba shouted. Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, and Kakashi were all in a training field. Kakashi was using it as an excuse to gather.

"What? I doubt any idea could get through your thick skull," Sakura said, bitter after being given a bath courtesy of Akamaru's tongue.

Kiba pointed to his head. "You guys are making this way too hard. It's simple: All we have to do is write a note, and send it through. We tell him how to send a reply, and boom, he sends one, and we get him back!"

Sakura pouted, and begrudgingly admitted it was a good idea. There was then arguments about what to put in it.

"I think I should write it to him," Hinata said without stutter, but quietly. Everyone looked to face her.

"…why? I'm his teammate," Sakura protested.

"I-I don't know…I j-just…wanted t-to…" She managed to get out, and Kakashi nodded.

"It's decided then. Hinata will write the letter."

* * *

"What did you want to do?" Naruto asked Hinata as they sat in a tea shop of Sasuke's choosing. The atmosphere was only slightly noisy, but it appeared to make Sakura a little nervous.

"I'm not sure. The last time I did anything with anybody was a few years ago, and that was with my parents."

Naruto put on his thinking face. "All right, what is your favorite thing to do?"

"Are the cherry blossoms out yet?" She asked, hopeful.

"Yes," Sasuke said. "Would you like to see the Sakura?"

"Yeah! I used to always go see them with my parents when I was little!" Sakura said, suddenly a bright smile on her face.

Kagami stopped drinking her tea. "I didn't even notice the cherry blossoms this year."

"Neither did I," Naruto said. "But let's do that!"

So, as it turned into afternoon, the four sat underneath a large tree. Sasuke bought Sakura a red bean paste dumpling and Kagami some onigiri.

"Nothing for me?" Naruto asked angrily as Sasuke came back with only the girl's treats.

"It's called Chivalry, idiot." Sasuke said, and almost immediately Kagami bashed him behind the head.

"Chivalry died when women were allowed to be ninja." Naruto laughed while simultaneously brushing petals out of his hair.

"How can you stand to be covered in these things?" Naruto asked to no one in particular.

"You get used to it," a voice said. Naruto looked up. "Hinata? And, um…"

"Hisakata."

Hinata sat down with the group. She was wearing her street clothes and looked in good health. "It's been awhile, Hyuuga-san. How have you been?" Sasuke asked politely.

"Cut the crap, Sasuke. I hate it when you act all mature." Hinata said, giving a little smile.

"Do you two…um…know each other or something?" Naruto asked, confused. The little girl at Hinata's side looked ready to burst with laughter.

"Duh, Naruto. We were on the same team. I got to know the little stoic here real well." Naruto thought about the implications and promptly felt as if he needed to throw up. "Get your head out of the gutter, you big softie. That would never happen," Hinata said, glaring at Naruto.

"Sorry," He said ever so quietly, blushing. Sasuke punched him in the shoulder.

"So, it's kind of unusual to see such a raggedy group together," Hinata said. "Especially you, Sakura-san. I hope you're feeling better?"

"Absolutely," Sakura said. "And actually, I asked everyone to come along. I think we're kind of…friends."

Hinata lifted one eyebrow. "Wow."

"Why does everyone keep saying that! Is it so unusual that I made some friends?"

"No," Hinata said. "But it's not like you had many…or _any, _for that matter, before."

Kagami giggled. "I think Naruto's really ready to turn over a new leaf."

_Understatement of the century, _Hinata thought.

* * *

"It's somehow related," Minato mumbled to himself. "Somehow…I just can't figure out _how!"_

Kushina, who was listening in as Minato sat in his office, pondering the solution to her problem, asked "is it that arm your people are investigating. I know this may sound harsh, but you need a little more to go on than that."

"Yeah, I know. But two of the kyuubi in one space is impossible, unless something else brought it over."

The two were silently sad as the unspoken thought flew to their minds: Naruto?

**

* * *

**

**~Halloween special bonus story!~**

"Naruto?" Sakura asked while out on the town. "Do you have any good ghost stories?"

"Ghost stories?" Naruto hadn't pegged Sakura as one who enjoyed creepiness.

"Yeah. I haven't heard a good one in forever!" Sakura said, all smiles. Naruto started to sweat. He didn't enjoy ghost stories at all.

"Um…okay, I got one. It starts out like this…

"It was a dark and stormy night on the night…Paruto decided to visit the haunted castle of the old Daimyo…"

"Would this 'Paruto' have any relation to anyone else?" Sakura asked.

"Shush! Anyway, Paruto was curious of the castle because all his friends said it was haunted. They warned him not to go, but he didn't heed the warnings. When he came inside, the door went _creeeeak, _and it sounded almost like a…um…ghost…tea party…"

Sasuke snorted. "Tea party? What were they, gentlemen ghosts?"

"Shut up Sasuke! And…as Paruto went further into the castle he came to a wall that had, written in blood, the message 'STAY AWAY!' Curiousity heightening, he pushed open the door to reveal…The Daimyo's ghost holding up his corpse's head—Ow!"

Sakura covered her mouth from giggling. Sasuke had punched Naruto. "That's the stupidest stpry I've ever heard," he said. The trio continued on, Naruto nursing the growing bump that was forming on his skull.

**

* * *

**

**I'm sorry I was late. I pushed this out before November, though, so be happy. And it was relatively long. Also, I wanted to say how grateful I am for all the reviews. I thought that it must be a mistake, as this story had seven reviews when I last checked, and now there's 27! I just wanted to express my gratitude and to say I'm certainly not going to abandon this fic. Also, I wanted to reiterate that this fic is GEN. Meaning no pairing, because romance is certainly not nor will it ever be the focus.**

**Also, I might write a chapter in December if my fingers still work (refer to last chapter's AN), so see you when I see you!**


	6. Notes to Nowhere

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**Words: 2,175**

**

* * *

**

Hinata was drawing a blank here. The table she sat at was empty except for her paper and pen, poised to write something that could tell Naruto how to get home. But she was having doubts already. What if this ended up in the wrong person's hands? It could sign Naruto's death warrant, assuming he wasn't already dead…

She trembled for a moment, then shook her head. This was no time to be feeling hopeless, after all. Naruto…Sakura…everyone was depending on her.

So, resigning herself, she began to write.

* * *

The evening ended nicely enough for Naruto. He had never gone to outings like that before, but he loosened up and let his own natural energy guide him. It wasn't that hard to do, once you stopped trying to be so uptight.

When he and Kagami walked home, they were both lost in their own thoughts, and just stared at the buildings passing as slowly as a snail.

Kagami was the first to speak. "Um, Naruto-san—" she said, but Naruto interrupted her.

"What's with this Naruto-san stuff all the sudden?" Naruto asked, not meanly, just curiously.

"I just thought…since we're technically somewhat of strangers, I should call you Naruto-san out of respect…" Kagami said, and Naruto suddenly felt a pang of guilt for making Kagami feel that way. It wasn't ill-intended, he just didn't like to be called in such a formal way.

"Well…you don't have to. I'm fine with being called just Naruto." Kagami looked at him skeptically, then sighed and crossed her arms.

"Whatever."

"What were you saying before?" Naruto asked, and suddenly Kagami remembered what her intent was in the first place.

"Oh, right. Anyway, Naruto-sa…Naruto, I just wanted to say that I promise I won't spill to anyone unless you ask me to. I'm not that type of person," Kagami replied, looking down at the dusty road as she said so.

"Thanks, I guess," Naruto said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. After a few moments, he broke the silence. "You accepted that I was a dimensional traveler pretty quickly. Why was that, anyway?"

Kagami sighed and looked away again, mentally searching for an answer. "I don't know. I guess I have this intuition about Kyuubi. I knew you weren't lying about the seal, and I knew that mom was the one that had Kyuubi in her, so…" She trailed off, and it seemed like the house popped out of nowhere.

They went inside and exchanged pleasant talk with Minato and Kushina, but soon went to bed because they were tired from the day's events. As Naruto went up the stairs, Minato looked at him. Or rather, analyzed him.

Once they were both upstairs, Kushina folded her hands over her stomach, stood behind the couch, and spoke in a low voice.

"I don't think it's him. Just because he's been acting odd lately doesn't mean anything. If we keep going like this, we'll suspect everyone in Konoha and their mother," Kushina said. Minato just reclined on the couch.

"So what? I don't suspect him at all, Kushina, I promise," Minato lied. He didn't want Kushina panicking. Besides, it was only a tiny suspicion. Nothing to act on.

* * *

It was a pretty quiet affair, the sending of the note. Hinata had done her best and clutched the small piece of paper tightly to her chest, as if it was some sort of lifeline.

"Tell us if you start to feel like you need to stop," Tsunade said. "I don't want to injure one of my best shinobi."

"Right, ma'am," Kakashi said, and with a countdown, he opened up his eye, the space in front of him beginning to swirl. Sakura's hair began to flutter, then flip wildly. They were doing this whole thing in a secluded area of the forest, so nobody would see them.

"Throw it now!" Sakura called to the wide-eyed girl, So Hinata looked at the note apprehensively before throwing it in.

"Naruto, please be safe…

* * *

Meanwhile, a very confused, blond-haired boy in pajamas struggled to open his eyes. They were cerulean blue, and the small swatches of light that made it through the trees reflected out of them. He groaned, the midday heat already getting to his sweat-soaked body. He put his hand up to his head, and it came away sticky with partially dried blood.

"Okay, Naruto Namikaze, where the hell have you gotten yourself now…" He remembered suddenly being transported somewhere unfamiliar, then panicking, and falling off the cliff.

"What the _hell?" _he said to no one.

* * *

The note that Hinata had thrown into the spiraling vortex wound up on the other side quite unharmed, and it just so happened to be in the right universe. Not only that, but it fluttered in the air around the Hokage monument, and sailed soundlessly across the sky.

It went down to the street, where it dodged the various heads of the people milling about the street, air current confused and chaotic. It drifted into a home, where the dusting of an old women caused it to ride out the other side, now free in open air.

It soared in the sky, and just when it might have dropped to be trampled by the passers-by, it caught on the wing of a messanger hawk heading to the city north of Konoha. Annoyed, the hawk picked it off, causing it to fall soundlessly through the window of a distracted secretary, who just so happened to be fanning herself. The wind she whipped up drove it under the door of the Hokage's office, where Minato's thumping feet knocked it under his desk, where, finally, it rested, no worse for wear.

* * *

"Hey kids, want to do something fun today?" Kushina asked Kagami and Naruto, who were both lounging around, doing nothing in particular.

"No. Why?" Kagami asked. Kushina shrugged.

"Well, why not? You're father's at work and won't be home for a pretty long time, so we might as well do something instead of just sitting around," Kushina said.

"I don't see anything wrong with sitting around," Kagami said, oblivious to a glare Naruto was sending her way. He was tired of just sitting around, doing absolutely nothing and Kagami being okay with it. He wanted to get out, cause some mischief (something this world was sadly lacking, he saw).

"Come on, Kagami. If you don't move around you'll get fat," Naruto said, smiling slyly. Kagami flinched, then slowly looked his way with the look of an executioner who had been presented with her victim.

"Naruto…" she said, getting up and stalking slowly toward him. "I…am…not…FAT!" she yelled, then outright started to chase him, looking as serious as could be.

"I never said you were!" Naruto said, suddenly scared for his life. He knew that these squabbles with girls, especially violent ones, could get painful really fast. "I just said you would get that way if you kept laying on your ass all day!"

"I was RESEARCHING. You probably don't even know the MEANING of the word, half-wit!" she yelled at him.

"You were researching the ceiling!" Naruto yelled, but Kagami caught up with him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.

"I was doing serious research! Didn't you see my book? Didn't you? _Didn't you!" _she said, right in his face. Then she moved closer and whispered. "Dimension boy."

"Gah, shut up!"

Kushina sighed, not catching Kagami's last comment. "I guess we're not going anywhere, then…"

"I'll go," Naruto volunteered, raising his hand. Kagami smacked him.

"Then I'm going too," Kagami said, dropping Naruto to the ground. Kushina nodded happily. She wasn't just going for her kid's benefits; she needed this as much as they did. The stress from everything had really gotten to her recently.

"We go to a _museum?" _Kagami complained. "Of all the places to choose from in this city, and we go to a museum."

"I thought you liked research, Kagami," Naruto said, elbowing her.

"I've been to this place god-knows how many times. Mom can attest to that," Kagami said, folding her arms. Naruto, however, was intrigued. He had never been to a museum before. No one was able to take him when he was younger, and he never really had much interest in learning about the past, since he was more concerned with jutsu and becoming the best ninja there was.

"What's wrong, Naruto? You're pretty interested in this stuff," Kushina commented as Naruto was busy looking at a display.

"It's nothing, just a little interesting is all. I forgot some of the stuff they had," Naruto lied through his teeth. He made sure not to be so openly interested. After all, Kushina _was _in direct contact with Minato, who he thought already suspected him in the first place. Kushina nodded, satisfied.

They breaked about half an hour later, and since it was a small museum (hardly anything to brag about, except for the fact not many cities had one) they were pretty much done touring the entire place.

"So," Kushina said to Kagami. "Glad you went after all?"

"I guess so," Kagami said, still not wanting to admit she actually enjoyed it a little. Naruto snickered. She glared, and nothing else came out of Naruto's mouth except his breath.

"How about you, Naruto?" Kushina asked. Naruto grinned.

"It was awesome!" he said. Kushina laughed and put her arms around both of the kids.

Naruto savored it.

* * *

Thirteen.

That was the number of tatami mats that made up Sakura's floor. It was also the third time she'd counted them. Simply put, the little room that held her just wasn't exciting enough. Usually she would fall asleep at this point, mulling over her injury and that day. But going out with Sasuke and Naruto had been…nice.

She sighed, and resigned herself to listing the objects mentally according to their color.

Ten minutes later, the vegetation in front of her little house rustled. She panicked, picking up the kunai she kept under her pillow, but when Sasuke pulled the door open, she relaxed.

"How are you doing today, Haruno-san?" He asked, smiling at her. She sighed, and flopped down on the floor.

"Bored. But you seem a little more at ease, I think. What's with that?" Sakura asked. Sasuke cocked one eyebrow, but then nodded in understanding.

"I know what you mean. Naruto…he kind of infuriates me, just a little bit, and I don't even know why," Sasuke said. "I was fine with him acting all gloomy and mean all the time, because he didn't ever talk to me. But seriously, when he's all energetic and stuff it kind of gets annoying."

"I guess so. But I like it. I was on his team, and trust me, gloomy got old after a while," Sakura said, getting up, and rummaging around in a small cabinet on the other side of the room. "Don't mind me. I'm just looking for some bottled water or something, or I can go ask my mom for tea…"

"Oh, don't bother with that, I'm fine, really," Sasuke said, waving his hands dismissively. Sakura just grunted and pulled out some Mochi. He accepted one.

"I insist. I don't have guests that often, so I might as well treat you to something," Sakura said, and Sasuke nodded, satisfied. If it made Sakura feel better, then by all means.

"So, what was it like with Naruto on your team, anyway?" Sasuke asked. Sakura chuckled.

"Well, it was fine, except Naruto was the most incompetent ninja I've ever seen. Especially since he's the fourth's son. Everyone expected him to be some sort of protégé or something, but he wasn't. He was always tripping over things, he was lousy at genjutsu, he didn't have any jutsus in his arsenal except for the basics, and he was terrible at taijutsu because he was so weak and didn't have much strength," Sakura said in a condescending voice. "In the end, I did most of the work."

Sasuke nodded thoughtfully. "I've heard about your skill. Apparently, you were one hell of a ninja before you went on leave. You were even supposed to be made chunin."

"Yeah, I heard that, too."

The place lapsed into an awkward silence.

"So…what happened?" Sasuke asked in a humble voice.

"You mean with Ruka?"

"Yeah," Sasuke finished the last bite of his mochi. As he swallowed, he wondered if Sakura would even open up to him.

Sakura looked up to him, green eyes partially hidden behind her stringy pink hair. They were dark, almost as if she was being pulled back to that day.

"It was two years ago, right after the chunin exam…"

* * *

**A/N: Oh dear, look at that. Some questions are answered, some still remain. And yes, that was just Naruto Namikaze you saw in that scene up there. And I really want to write him. But that has to wait for a while. Also, cliffhanger, again! However, this time the chapter should come out sometime late or mid-January, since it's going to be a flashback chapter.**

**Also, reviews: I can't believe it, you guys. 47. FORTY SEVEN. You people are amazing and wonderful and I almost feel guilty for doing NaNo and then giving you this chapter that just barely flies into December territory. I feel like it isn't adequate enough! But there are some scenes that I'm looking forward to writing that I hope you'll like a lot. Gah. Now I'm just rambling. **

**But rest assured, the reviews are SO appreciated, and so are all your favs, alerts, and C2 adds. I hope you all had a merry Christmas (or whatever particular holiday you celebrate) and have a wonderful New Years!**

**See you on the flip side, everyone!**


	7. With Her Own Blade

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Shonen Jump.**

**Words: 3,957**

* * *

"Two years ago, the chunin exams…?" Sasuke murmured. "Yeah, I remember those. A bunch of us were made chunin then. Me, Hinata, Shikamaru…"

"Yeah, not to mention other people that weren't in our class," Sakura said. "But since it was a while ago, I can tell you about the chunin exams too. It involves…the incident."

"Go ahead."

* * *

Sweat laced the palms of her hands, terror in the back of her mind, but most of all, she was annoyed to death at one Namikaze Naruto. She sighed, grasping a stray lock of hair, and twirling it. As much as she liked to have her long hair free to flow in the wind, it was getting annoying. She grabbed a ponytail holder she had brought along and put it up.

"This is so stupid! I'm never going to be a chunin with GIRLS as my teammates," Naruto said, annoyed. As per usual, he was wearing his forehead protector around his neck, along with his all-black outfit.

Sakura hit him in the back of the head. "Look, idiot, I know you're annoyed at being a part of a weird team, but Ruka and I do ten times the workload _you _do."

Ruka nodded. Her hair was a dark red and only went down to the middle of her neck. Her grey eyes glared at Naruto. "Want me to prove to you that I'm a worthy ninja?" she said. Naruto froze in place as the sound of Ruka's _Tachi_ sliding out of its sheath. Sakura caught her hand.

"Listen, slaughtering him won't really do anything, will it? After all, we _do _need him to continue on to the last round," Sakura said. "And the last round is right here. So let's let the opponent beat him up."

Ruka slid her sword back in. "Fine, fine."

"Next match: Tsurugine Ruka Vs. Temari!" Called the announcer. Ruka sighed, and went down the stairs, with Sakura calling good luck to her.

The match started with the two staring at each other, daring with their eyes to make the first move. Temari felt almost naked, with her fitting clothes and very little hidden compartments. Ruka was covered in black cloth, _Tachi _her only visible weapon, but many more could be hidden away.

Finally, Temari grabbed her fan and threw a giant gust of wind at her. Ruka drew her weapon, but cried out in surprise when the wind seemed like it…_cut _her!

"You're no match for me," Temari said. "Your sharp stick won't be able to touch me!"

"I doubt that!" Ruka shouted, grabbing her curved longsword and lunged towards the blonde girl before she could throw another one of her wind cutting jutsu. Temari just grinned, and readied her fan.

As Temari thrust the fan again, this time, Ruka jumped high. Temari looked up wide eyed, at the red-haired girl who was now grinning from ear to ear. The blade went down, and sliced halfway through the fan before Temari pulled away. Temari's eyes flicked nervously from Ruka, who was just standing up, to the broken fan. She _tsked, _but smirked.

"Do you honestly think the only tool I have is my fan?" Temari shouted. Ruka shook her head.

"No. That's why I'm going to do this!" At this, she sprinted forward, putting chakra behind her steps, and thrust the _Tachi _at Temari. Quick as lightning, she blocked with the glossy black part of the fan, and the sword barely scratched it. Nevertheless, she held it in place, and Temari's expression gradually became a smile.

"You're not as strong as me, girl. You're fancy sword can't protect you for—"

Temari found herself with a _Tanto _stuck in her, pulled out of her folds of black by none other than Tsurugine Ruka.

"That's why you always have a back-up," Ruka murmured to Temari, her shocked expression seemingly frozen in place. Ruka removed herself from the tangled knot of kunoichi, laying Temari down gently, and she was declared the winner. As the medics closed in, she removed her _Tanto, _tucking it inside her clothes once more. She stopped one of the white-clad men. "She's just paralyzed. She should be fine in a few hours if you bandage up the wounds."

The man nodded nervously, and Ruka walked off the battlefield, satisfied. Sakura squealed in delight when she came up the stairs to rejoin the team. "I saw your skill with that sword in the forest, but I had no idea you carried a back-up with you!" Sakura said, fawning over the longsword. Naruto simply pouted and looked away.

"Well, it was okay," he admitted, but Ruka sent him a glare and poked him with the handle of the sword. Naruto looked annoyed, but didn't fight back.

Two more matches came and went, but none of them were called. Finally, Sakura heard her name.

"Whoa, Sakura," Ruka said encouragingly. "You got Kiba! He's pretty good, but not nearly as good as you…"

"Thanks, Sakura said as she hurried down the stairs. When she got to the battlefield, Kiba was waiting for her, head cocked in defiance. "What's your problem?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just wondering if you'll be as easy to beat as I think you will." He cocked his eyebrow suggestively. "And when I win, maybe we could go on a date or something…"

Sakura's expression turned dark in a flash. "Watch your mouth, boy, I'm not just another pretty face."

"We'll see about that," Kiba said arrogantly.

"…Start!"

Kiba made his move almost immediately. He ran straight for her, making signs for jutsu, and something slammed into Sakura so hard that she flew backwards and slammed into the plated wall of the stadium.

She groaned as she came crashing down, but got up again, as fast as she could without making herself dizzy. Kiba was headed towards her again, smile fixed firmly on his face. Sakura took a deep breath and formed seals as fast as she could, fingers barely brushing each other as they flew.

The final seal was made, and Kiba stopped dead in his tracks as his eyes locked onto Sakura's eyes, and suddenly he collapsed. Sakura smiled, but it was short lived as something locked onto her leg.

She slowly lowered her eyes, and saw the small white dog that currently had his teeth locked around Sakura's ankle. She leaned down and tried to swat the dog away, but when he still wouldn't let go, she punched him. The dog yelped, with a faint trace of red on his coat, and flew backwards. Sakura sighed, satisfied.

"Well, that pest is finally gone…"

"You lost your concentration," Kiba's voice came from where he lay. Sakura whipped her head around to see him standing up shakily, smirk on his face.

"As if you could beat me. I cast a genjutsu on you! You couldn't possibly…" She only stared while Kiba went through another set of seals as fast as she had.

"Human art of Beast Mimicry!" he cried, and Sakura saw before her a monstrous boy that she recognized as Kiba. Suddenly the dog barked a few times, and in a cloud of smoke an identical boy took the dog's place.

Sakura saw the two drill-like whirlwinds coming towards her, but she only had time to block as they slammed into her.

She awoke what seemed like moments later to find Kiba and the Kiba clone walking away. She put her hands together in a seal, and felt Chakra welling up in her feet. Like lightning, she struck getting up and making a chakra-enhanced run towards the pair.

Kiba's eyes widened as he felt the kunai in his back, and when he turned around, he was once again locked into Sakura's, and he collapsed to the ground. The dog-turned-boy tried to pull another trick to make Sakura's concentration, but before he could even touch her, he collapsed as well.

Sakura grabbed and pulled her kunai out, lifting it up in victory as the announcer called Sakura the winner of the match.

As she climbed up, she could see Naruto nervous as he could be. "I'm next," he murmured. "I have to go sometime."

Sakura slapped him on the back. "Don't worry, you're the Hokage's son. They wouldn't dare kill you." Somehow, Naruto didn't look relieved.

The next two matches went by, but soon enough, Naruto's name was called. He gulped, but tried to look brave as he marched down the stairs. "Good luck, Namikaze!"

"Thanks, Tsurugine," came an uncertain and distant reply.

This round, it was Naruto Namikaze versus Neji Hyuga. Sakura felt relieved that it wasn't one of the foreign ninja, but that didn't stop her from worrying. Naruto wasn't exactly the greatest at fighting, and that was giving him more credit than he deserved.

Neji Hyuga was an imposing boy, no matter what his long hair might have said. He beat Hinata Hyuga with little difficulty in the elimination round, and Naruto might have been even weaker than her.

After the start was called, Neji just waited. He was daring Naruto to make the first move.

Naruto took the bait.

He ran towards the other boy after casting a nervous glance towards his father, way up in the stands. His strategy was a simple one: beat up Neji until he could no longer move. When he was almost there, Naruto extended his arm in a punch—

Only to have Neji simply poke his arm, and Naruto watching, with a look of a man who had just been put on death row, as it fell uselessly to the ground. He leaped back, trying fruitlessly to make his arm move.

"It's useless," Neji said. "Even if you can recover your arm, I blocked your Chakra. Even _you _know what that means."

Naruto frowned, and figured that he might as well try again. He ran towards him, then extended his leg this time. Neji grabbed it and flipped Naruto on his back, pressing a point on his leg that, once again, blocked his Chakra.

"Just give up," Neji said. Naruto glared at him. He was the son of the Hokage. He _had _to win. If he didn't, he would be known as Minato's failure son for the rest of his life…

Naruto grimaced as he tried to get up, but got up nonetheless. His leg pulsed with pain. "There's no way I'm giving up," he said. Neji just looked more determined.

Then Neji, fed up, slammed Naruto in the forehead with his fingers. Naruto gasped, falling backwards onto the ground, shaking all over. "Just give up," he whispered for only Naruto to hear. "Lose honorably."

Naruto raised his trembling hand. "I, Naruto Namikaze…forfeit," he said, and the stadium was cast into the awkward clatter of cheering.

_I failed, _Naruto thought. _Again._

_

* * *

_

"Naruto, are you listening?" Minato asked the distracted-looking boy standing in his office. He jumped, but looked at Minato. "Good. Anyway, Ruka, Sakura, Naruto, I need you to deliver these to a town in the Land of Wind. I've given you a map; the town is called Kairou." He handed them three scrolls, and each one of them took one. "Got it?"

"Understood, Sir," Ruka said, saluting. They left on their mission fully packed, and went out of the gates with a positive attitude—well, maybe not Naruto. He was still a little…bitter.

* * *

Naruto Namikaze's mouth was open at the sight of Konoha before him, mostly because it had one extra head on the mountain where they enshrined the Hokages.

"How long have I been gone…?" he muttered to himself, before getting up. He examined himself. "Let's see…three lac…lacra…cuts, a couple bruises, and…" he winced painfully as he tried to turn around. "Definitely a broken bone somewhere. Probably a rib."

He thought for a little while on what he was to do. After all, he couldn't go charging into bizarre-Konoha and shout, 'here I am!' he needed a plan. Something Shikamaru might come up with.

Sadly, no matter how much he scrunched up his face and thought, Shikamaru's genius simply wouldn't come to him. He groaned. "I'm injured, no good in a fight, and probably accidentally time-travelled or something. Great."

* * *

"So," Sasuke said, "You guys were sent on a mission. I don't see why they wouldn't wait a bit after Naruto had gotten pummeled before giving him a mission."

Sakura sighed. "I don't know why. Maybe the Hokage was looking for a way to redeem him in the eyes of the public or something. He must have been at least a little bit embarrassed."

"I doubt it. The Hokage's not one to give in to peer pressure."

"That's what you think. Anyway…"

* * *

Sakura smiled at the two of her teammates fighting. Ruka and Naruto were opposite in a lot of ways, but for some reason, they still remained friends. Or at least she hoped they were friends. They had been fighting for a while, but as they started getting nearer to the Land of Wind, they calmed down, and the path became eerily quiet.

_I can't believe they didn't get us a Jonin to help us with this mission… _Sakura thought. _But it _is_ just a delivery mission. And the Sand village isn't our enemy._

It was Ruka who offered to set up camp first. She was tired from walking, and it was getting dark anyway.

Sakura had brought a big tent for them to sleep in, considering that it was easier to carry one large tent than three smaller ones. As she was setting it up, she took a glance at Naruto, expecting him to be doing something unproductive, only to see him setting up his own tent.

"Naruto!" she yelled in annoyance, only for him to look disdainfully in her direction. "I thought we agreed one tent only!"

"Yeah, well I decided to carry my own. Besides, it's fine. More room for your fat asses to sleep, anyway—AH!" Naruto now sported a large bump on his head, courtesy of Sakura. Ruka walked over and stared curiously at the bump.

"He said we had big butts," Sakura complained. Ruka's eyebrow twitched, and Naruto suddenly grew another bump after a collision with Ruka's fist.

After the fire had been constructed, and the three were eating, the moon was coming up over the horizon. Soon everyone was in bed, with a rotating guard. Sakura was first, then Ruka, then Naruto. Sakura's shift was uneventful, and when the moon was midway to its set, Ruka went to her shift…

* * *

Sakura felt her fists tense. She was being dragged into the moment again, and she started to feel tears come to the edge of her eyes. Sasuke grabbed her shoulder, and his soft skin brought her back to the present.

"You can stop now," he said, "if it's too painful. Don't do this for my benefit, okay?" Sakura nodded, wiping the almost-formed tears out of her eyes.

"I guess you can infer from that point…" Sakura muttered. "I won't trouble you with the details."

"It's fine, it's fine. I promise."

"I just…I get caught up in that moment, you know?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said, "I barely remember intracting with him. He was just really withdrawn and serious." Sakura nodded.

"After the incident, he just kind of…collapsed. He stayed inside all the time. I didn't really speak to him until you two showed up. He's…different. Really different. I don't get why he suddenly changed like that," Sakura said, shaking her head. "Like he's a whole different person."

Sasuke nodded. "Definitely. Although…he may really have changed. Maybe this is a good thing."

Sakura wasn't so sure.

* * *

"The _hell?"_

Naruto clamped his mouth shut. He had managed to sneak into a closer view of the village, only to be confronted by what seemed to be bizarre-o versions of the people he knew—Sakura just so happened to be going out of the village. And her hair was short. And, oh yeah, she was on active duty, which _doesn't happen._

_I need to get a closer look, _he thought. It was against his better judgment to leave this suddenly comfortable patch of large bushes, so he sat for a bit, thinking up a budding strategy. The guards walked in a pattern; for a five-minute interval, there was a hole in the guard's pattern where Naruto could sneak across and somehow squeeze into a hole in the wall that looked be a possible, if incredibly tight passageway to the other side.

When the interval came around again, he checked if the coast was clear, and padded along the short stretch of grass between the edge of the forest and the village wall. As he got to the hole, he began to feel more and more doubtful. He wasn't a little kid anymore, and he couldn't fit through tiny spaces like he used to. Feeling time trickling off his mental clock, he tried anyway.

When he couldn't get in head-first, As his shoulders caught on the edges and gave him some nasty scrapes, he tried the other way. Finding his lower body able to fit in better, it was smooth sailing…until his feet it another wall, which was quite close to the outer wall. He bent his legs, trying to get purchase with his feet on the dusty surface, and succeeding. He knew time was almost up. He pulled most of his body through, only to catch on his shoulders more. He began to hear footsteps, increasingly loud, coming from the side of the wall. In a desperate last attempt, he scrunched in his shoulders and pulled the rest of his body through.

He was silent as the guard passed by, seemingly not noticing anything amiss. As soon as he was out of hearing range, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. For the price of some cuts and bruises, he was in.

* * *

Although they had stopped talking about it, Sakura found herself mulling over it in her head anyway. Sasuke hadn't made it much better, even though he had said all those reassuring words. As she lay in bed that night, she thought, and she remembered.

Sakura was woken from her sleep by something. At first, she didn't hear anything, so she felt it safe to go back to sleep…until another muffled cry reached her ears.

Like a tornado, she was out of her sleeping bag and outside, weapon at the ready. On missions, they had to sleep in battle-ready clothes, but Sakura was dressed only in her night shirt and tight green shorts. Sakura looked around, but she couldn't see anything. She heard another cry, this time to her immediate right. Her bare feet scrambled in the sand, and what she saw horrified her.

The man was a Suna ninja, or at least she thought so, until she saw the cross through the insignia on the forehead protector. Most of his appearance was hidden in shadow, save for his scraggly black hair and typical sand ninja uniform. Under him, struggling to get free, was a terrified Ruka—her arms were pinned down and her mouth taped shut.

The missing nin raised his eyes to Sakura, unconcerned. That was, until Sakura threw a three kunai at him, which he blocked. His eyes turned fierce, suddenly, and he began to approach Sakura, Ruka strung up by the wrists in his hands. Sakura suddenly felt a flash of unadulterated fear.

"Naruto!" She screamed. A groggy response followed, and Sakura saw, out of the corner of his eye, Naruto peek out of his tent. His eyes suddenly became huge, and—without even a word—he ran. Right out of his tent, into one of Suna's few forests. The trees, spaced widely and clearly on the cusp of the inhospitable desert, managed to hide him, and Sakura turned her attention back to the missing nin.

"Another pretty one," he said in a deep, gravelly voice, "Do you want to join your friend here? I suppose I may even let her go." Sakura, in response, raised her hands to form a jutsu. Their eyes locked for one second before he grunted in pain, letting Ruka go. She had kicked him where it counted, and joined Sakura, looking disheveled and scared.

"We can handle him," Ruka said shakily. Sakura nodded, but she doubted it. She wanted to run away.

"On my signal, we run. Got it?" Sakura said, but Ruka didn't appear to hear her. "And…Now—Ruka, what are you doing!" Sakura screamed, as Ruka had launched towards him, a sword in each hand. One last time, she called to Naruto, and no response. She saw it happen, but that didn't stop Sakura from running in after Ruka.

With the ease of a skilled assassin, the missing nin grabbed one of Ruka's swords, and cleanly thrust it into Ruka's stomach. Ruka stopped immediately, but, as if annoyed, stabbed the end that had emerged from her back into a tree, pinning her there. Ruka screamed.

As fast as she could blink, the missing nin was in front of her, with Ruka's other sword—and attempted to disembowel Sakura, as well. She saw it coming, and dodged it. She felt the sword rip across her chest and her stomach, but ignored the burning pain, calling for her most deadly jutsu.

The missing nin found himself bound to a tree very suddenly, and from out of nowhere, the pink-haired girl grew from the bark, holding the sword he had tried to stab her with. He felt a sudden lack of air as his breaths couldn't draw any air. Only the smell of steel and blood.

Naruto returned to the scene, grabbing some first-aid basics to stave off Sakura's bleeding. Her shirt was soaked through, and her face was contorted in pain. She barely noticed when he lifted the shirt and applied the bandages. Done with her, he looked around for Ruka. He found her.

She was obviously dead, judging by the lack of color in her face or light in her eyes. Naruto felt sick, and emptied whatever remained of the last meal he had eaten.

Now was not the time to go soft, he realized. He gathered whatever of Sakura's belongings he could, and glanced at Ruka's body. Her _Tanto _lay at her feet, unsullied by blood. He grabbed it and put it in his pack.

Returning to Sakura, he lifted her on his shoulders, and began the long trek back home. Halfway there, he collapsed, only to be rescued by some ninja who had gone to Suna on a mission, ironically to find the missing nin.

Sakura woke up a week later, weak, but confused. Maybe it had been a bad dream, she wondered, but the pain on her chest didn't lie. When she was able to lift up her shirt to see what the man had done to her, she cried. Most of her front torso was covered in an enormous cut that had been encrusted with dried blood. She knew that the area that was still covered in bandages was still healing, still prone to bleed.

Her mother had come in, telling her about Ruka's memorial service. Many people had been there, and Ruka was honored for being KIA.

Later, she went to visit the memorial stone.

The last line read _Ruka Tsurugine._

_

* * *

_

**A/N: Oi, you people, over there. I was one day late. And for the record, I began working on this chapter as soon as I had submitted the previous one, and I thought since it was a stupid flashback chapter it should have been marginally shorter than the others. Well, guess who was wrong? For most of my chapters I try to make it to at least the 2K words point, if not more, but this got unexpectedly involved and I nearly made it to 4K words. So, here we got a bit more expansion on Ruka, Naruto's character and cowardice, and most of all, Naruto N.'s adventures in canon!Konoha, which will be expanded upon in later chapters. Actually, there will probably be at least another chapter with little input from Naruto U, since I have big plans for him and his alternate universe counterpart which involve much crying. And the canon characters get very, very confused.**

**See you in (later) February!**


	8. Her Boy's False

**Disclaimer: I do not own the NARUTO manga or anime. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto.**

**Words: 2,081**

**

* * *

**

Something bizarre was going on. Naruto Namikaze had figured that out from the moment he woke up, lying on the ground, bloody, and in his pajamas. But this was more than odd.

He had been sneaking about in the shadows, behind buildings, and generally in the back alleys of the village for obvious reasons. He could find his way in and out pretty well; he was used to sneaking around in the village anyway, mostly to avoid…_talking _to people. Not to mention he was pretty sure he was a failure in his father's eyes. He didn't want anyone staring at him with pity.

The layout was mostly the same, but Naruto still noticed some differences here and there. Sometimes when he expected to come to a brick wall, there was an alley, and vice-versa. Not to mention the village somehow looked _newer—_but not _better_. It was as if there had been disasters and the village was patched over every time. When he tried going home, the Namikaze house was nowhere to be found, even though it was most definitely a large house. There were several close calls, but it seemed as if when anyone _did _see him (civilians; he kept out of the way of the ninja) they glared at him a bit, but they tried to cover it up when he looked away.

He felt like he was getting nowhere fast. This whole bizarre-universe didn't seem to have an exit, and he was only taking more risk exploring this Konoha. He found a larger food shop, with smells of grilling meat and noodles wafting outside. He sat in the shade, far enough from the street that if a ninja or civilian were to see him he would look like a typical beggar. He rubbed his head, feeling the spot where the blood had dried into a crusty mess in his blond hair. He would need to get that looked at, somehow.

When he was somewhere that made sense, that was.

Either way, he sat in the coolness of the shadow, feeling the sweat and grime eventually dry on his face into one layer of what seemed like a second skin. He couldn't stand it.

He didn't care if he was spotted by some guy who hated him, he looked about for some sort of washroom. Finally, he found somewhere he recognized. It was across the street, and it was one thing this place and his Konoha had in common: Ichiraku ramen.

He steeled himself. "Namikaze," he muttered. "You're the Hokage's son. You're gonna make it." Finally, when there seemed to be a moment of stillness on the street, Naruto shot out of his little alleyway and into Ichiraku's singular bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind him with a reassuring click. He leaned against the wall for a few moments, trying to keep his heart from beating out of his chest and listening to make sure no one heard him. Hearing nothing, he sighed, and his slid down the door as the adrenaline came to a halt.

He looked around. A toilet, a sink, and what looked like a freshly swapped towel. Perfect. Naruto got up, made his way over to the sink, and got an eyeful of himself in the mirror. He looked about as bad as he felt.

First things first, he scrubbed his face with water until most of the grime was off. Next, he took his sleeping clothes off, and cleaned any wounds that needed it. There were some minor cuts he hadn't noticed before, and his torso was hurting like crazy. Definitely a broken rib. He made a mental note to be careful to avoid too much movement unless he had to, otherwise it might puncture something.

He turned a somewhat disgusted eye to his sleeping clothes, realizing that they looked terrible and smelled worse. He didn't have much of a choice, though, but he was reluctant to put them on just yet.

He settled on rinsing them under the sink.

* * *

Hinata was nobody's fool. If she thought she spotted Naruto for sure, she would have run to the Hokage's office immediately, or notified a jonin. Of course she would have, even if he was sprinting across the street in his PJ's.

But Hinata wasn't quite sure if it was indeed Naruto who had suddenly run across the street. She had spent a lot of time staring at his face, and she could draw out a detailed picture if she wanted to. She knew Naruto's face. But the boy that she had just seen, although the same height and build as Naruto, and possibly even the same shade of hair—although his was caked with blood and dirt, did not have the same look about him.

Naruto's lips were always smiling. Almost always. And this boy's lips had scarcely seen a smile, used to lying low in a frown. And his eyes, too. Naruto's eyes were wide and exuded excitement. This person's eyes were dull and serious, and didn't have the same light Naruto's had. Last but not least was his skin. Naruto had three whisker-like marks on his face, Hinata had noted, and his skin was tough and sun-tanned. There were no such markings on this boy, and his skin was only slightly more tan than hers, speaking of a life spent in the shadows, not rigorously training.

That was not Naruto. It couldn't be Naruto.

She stayed there for a little while, frozen, waiting for her conscience to make up its mind already. And she kept waiting. Fifteen minutes had passed and she had not moved an inch, and her legs were beginning to get tired. She put her hands over her eyes, looking down, as she thought. Eventually, she uncovered them, looking up, markedly more determined. Then she began to run.

She ran as fast as her legs could take her, which was what her sore legs apparently needed, aching less and less as she got closer to the Hokage tower.

When she reached the tall red building's gate, she slowed down to a fast walk, and entered the building. Making her way through various floors, she finally reached the Hokage's office, and subsequently her secretary.

"I need to see the Hokage, Ma'am," she said, her voice soft as usual. The secretary looked at her critically.

"The Hokage is in a meeting. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to wait," she said. As if an afterthought, she handed Hinata two papers. "Since this qualifies as an appointment, I'm afraid you'll have to fill these out."

Hinata steadfastly refused the form, and mustered her best serious face. "Can you tell her this is about Naruto?" she said. Her voice wavered somewhat at the end. "It's something serious."

Again, the secretary looked at her as if she was an annoying child, but nodded nonetheless. "I'll have Shizune tell her."

* * *

Tsunade stood up abruptly, and left the meeting room. What they were discussing was not important, although you wouldn't know it by the way they chattered like alarmed chickens as she closed the door.

Shizune followed her nervously. "Um, Lady Tsunade, what just happened in there?" she asked, voice wavering. Tonton seemed to agree by giving out a nervous snort.

"We're just going to have to see, aren't we?" Tsunade said, not looking back. The two came into the place where Hinata was leaning against the wall, looking at her hands as she wrung them. "Hinata!" the girl jumped, but faced Tsunade immediately. "Come on. Into my office."

Hinata complied, and as soon as the door was shut, Hinata burst. "I-I think I saw N-Naruto!"

Tsunade looked at her doubtfully. "Don't you think he would come and tell us if he were here? Not that I'm saying you didn't see him, but it's a little unlikely."

"I-I know. But I know I did. I _think _I did."

"You _think?" _Tsunade said. "What do you mean you _think?"_

Hinata looked down as she continued. "Well, I saw him. I know it was him. It looked like him, but at the same time, it didn't. Those lines on Naruto's face weren't there. He was pale, too. And he looked really…" she searched for the word. "He looked terrified."

Tsunade was definitely interested now. One of Naruto's most obvious sign of possession were those marks on his face. They were easily recognizable. He could have put a henge over himself, she reasoned, but what for? What could he possibly fear here, besides what he'd been living with all his life? What could scare him?

What could terrify Naruto Uzumaki?

The paleness could be explained as blood loss, or perhaps he'd been stuck in a place with no sun for a while. But he did have a somewhat dark skin tone anyway. Not too dark, but not light enough to ever look pale. Tsunade rubbed the bridge of her nose; this was getting too strange. She just wanted a clear cut answer. Some sake wouldn't hurt, either.

Hinata was now looking at her, awaiting her orders anxiously. "Lady Hokage, what should I do?" she asked. Tsunade sighed, and stood up.

"I'll be sending some of my chunin after him. You saw him, didn't you?" Hinata nodded. "Good. You will be leading them to his location. From there, we'll take him into custody and see what this is all about. Understood?"

Hinata nodded and stood up straight. "Understood!"

* * *

Naruto's clothes were more or less clean, but they were still wet. He had to wait in here, unless he wanted to go out there naked.

He watched absently as the last of the dirty water drifted down the sink, and hung up all his clothes in a way that he hoped would dry them faster. It probably wouldn't, considering his experience with anything domestic thus far. That is, nothing.

For the next few minutes, he sat on the floor, attempting to think about nothing. Of course, a thought crept in: How did he get here?

As far as he knew, he'd only been sleeping peacefully until he crashed onto very solid ground. What had he done to deserve getting sent to some bizarre dimension? Hell, what did anyone have to do?

Maybe it wasn't his fault. Maybe some of dad's enemies had cast a jutsu on him, sending him here. That was the most likely explanation, though he'd never even remotely heard of anything like a dimension-switching justsu before. Of course, dad had made some pretty powerful enemies over the years, most of whom he was not given knowledge of. It was probably for his own safety, or at least for better for his mind. After all, Minato didn't want a paranoid son.

Or it was something else.

But that was just his imagination. If it was some sort of justsu, his dad could fix it. He was good at fixing justsu, especially Naruto's. Maybe, Naruto thought, that was how he got so good at it. Fixing his failure son's mistakes constantly, so he could be prepared for the time when he really needed to.

Suddenly, a large crash shook the door on the other side. Naruto shot up, knowing that either he was found and wanted or that someone else _really _had to use the bathroom. As quickly as he could, he put on the bottom part of his pajamas, only just in time. The door was smashed open, and outside stood at least seven chunin. And one familiar face, Byakugan activated, and looking as if she were trying to steel herself.

"Hinata…" he said in a small voice, before he was roughly grabbed and promptly knocked out.

* * *

Hinata deactivated her Byakugan. "That's him," she said in a small voice. She had been perfectly fine up until a few seconds ago. From a closer look, she was almost certain that it couldn't be Naruto. Then he had spoken her name.

That voice was unmistakably his. The way he said it was not.

She paused the chunin who were taking the unconscious boy away, and looked at his face. Pushed back his hair, so like Naruto's. The face was almost identical, but she was certain now. This was a different boy. At least inside he was. She nodded at the chunin, and they began carrying him again, off in earnest. What could have possibly done this, she wondered. Did some high-level ninja brainwash him? Put a genjutsu on him?

Oh, she prayed, please let him still be in there.

* * *

**Well that was fun, getting the chapter late. But seriously, I'm sorry. Real life happened, and I forgot this existed for a while.**

**But that's sorted out now! This chapter was mainly set in canonverse, and the next chapter will be, too. And if you're wondering, no, it's not going to be NaruHina. Gen fic! :D In any case, what do you think of Naruto N.'s dilemma? He's in for some tough sh*t here in the next chapter. Which will be released next month, yes. Again, thank you for all your wonderful reviews, favorites, and alerts! Each and every one of them is deeply appreciated.**

**And although I'm one day late, have a little luck of the Irish. Seeya April!**


End file.
